The Red Bull KTM Factory Racing fairings in MotoGP™ show Mobil 1 stickers…but the logo hides a partnership that is much more than just a sponsor or supplier of fuel and oil. What’s the story then?
By Adam Wheeler
Gasoline, oil and small invisible liquids that roam around a prototype race engine: it’s not exactly the sexiest of motorsport subjects but nevertheless a pertinent one, especially in MotoGP for 2024 and moving forward. The topic of non-fossil-based fuel, for example, entered a new era this year with all Grand Prix motorcycles running a composition that is 40% ‘sustainable’. In less than three seasons, MotoGP will have to run substances that are 100% non-fossil origin.
At the beginning of 2023 Red Bull KTM entered a new and dynamic relationship with Mobil 1 in MotoGP; a brand of lubricants owned by the massive ExxonMobil American fuel and chemical conglomerate (one of the ten biggest companies in the world). During the 2024 Gran Premio de España at Jerez in May, the race team helped Mobil 1 celebrate their 50th anniversary with a special black and gold livery. Mobil 1 and ExxonMobil staff also gathered at the Red Bull Energy Station to reveal how their alliance is different to any other in the world championship paddock…
How-and-why is oil and fuel a big deal for KTM anyway?
The KTM RC16 motor represents the peak of the company’s technical prowess both in materials, performance (revs, output, temperature) and electronics. The engine has already helped Brad Binder to the record top speed in MotoGP, achieved in Italy 2023 and clocked at 366.1 kmph (227.4 mph). “[the oil] is like a doctor for the engine because you can learn a lot about what is going on thanks to the analysis,” Technical Manager Sebastian Risse says.
“The lubricant can tell us a lot more about what is happening inside the engine because it is touching so many of the moving parts,” says ExxonMobil’s Global Motorsport Manager Mark Humphries.
“We measure different parameters or elements,” offers Pablo Terroba, Mobil 1’s Racing Technical Advisor and KTM’s contact on the ground in MotoGP. “In the oil we are focusing on the protection, the thinness, the friction. In the fuel we are more focused on the performance of the engine…so the parameters and instruments are different.”
Mobil 1 provide totally bespoke and customized liquids for the KTM crew. Humphries won’t tell us the price of a liter of fuel because “it would scare me to death.” To get to that stage means a very careful and exact period of testing, especially with the new regulatory petrol for 2024.
“On our side we model the chemistry before we start doing small batches,” reveals Humphries. “Then we test in-house. When we get to the point where we are happy with the candidate, then we send it to KTM to test in their dynos. We have various motors ourselves but also simulations, so it is not all done inside combustion. We have a large chemical business, so we understand the properties of the chemistry. We make the molecule that goes into the product for KTM; we test with our knowledge of other molecules then we start building. We want to make absolutely certain that the product will do what it’s designed to do. We build it piece-by-piece. We are not a lubricant blender. We understand the chemistry.”
“OK, so, our engine dyno is the backbone of the testing process,” Sebastian Risse tell us. “Your [lubricant] partner has a certain objective they want to achieve and therefore a certain expectation before the product goes on the dyno. That’s the first thing we need to validate. If it’s positive and achieves what we both want then you have to go into endurance testing. A full calibration for something big like changing the fuel spec means more than one engine lifetime has to be invested, but then you have all the numbers you need and the maps to run. Then, it’s the time to transfer it to track testing. This is different to, say, chassis parts where you have simulations and calculations, possibly stiffness measurements and maybe some other data before you put it in the bike and go and see if it works. When we are on the dyno we know whether it will be better or worse but we are also looking for other unexpected downsides or surprises and then the very last check is on track.”
“The new fuel was a big challenge” Risse adds, “and it was not something you saw on the track because it had to happen between our engine dept and the [fuel] specialists. There was a lot of research, and a lot of dyno runs done with specifications. We were in the lucky situation that it worked perfectly for performance when it arrived at the racetrack. It was a collaboration that created this product and what you saw in the first races of 2024 and what we are doing on the main straight…we have impressed ourselves.”
Sustainability is a big discussion point as MotoGP tries to be a more environmentally friendly sport. This is where Mobil 1’s expertise really comes into play but there is still the balancing act between quality, R&D and performance. “We are always looking at different chemistry and molecules that we can apply to the products but the key thing is that we don’t want to hinder the performance of the team, so whatever we do has to be proven,” comments Humphries. “As a whole industry we are moving more towards sustainability, also because the consumer wants it, so it is up to us to find that performance.”
“We have been making sustainable fuels for a very long time,” he says. “The fuel we make for the Porsche Super Cup is from carbon dioxide captured in the air in South America which is turned in methane and that is turned into gasoline. You make compromises in performance today but every time we look at the chemistry we learn more ways to improve it. At Exxon we have our own research center just outside New York. We do fundamental research there and it is a large facility full of chemists and engineers. It is actually where the lithium-ion battery for a mobile phone was developed and we won a Nobel Prize for that [Stanley Whittingham, 2019]. So, there are a lot of smart people there.”
Are Mobil 1 serious players in MotoGP?
It seems that way. ExxonMobil is massive and has roots stretching back to 1866! They were racing even before motorsport was invented. If that doesn’t seem to make sense then Humphries explains. “We used to sponsor horse racing with oil for saddles and grease for carriage wheels. Business surged with the arrival of the automobile and after victory at the Indy 500 in 1915. Motorsport is at the heart of what we do. We understand and learn a lot from doing things like this [MotoGP] because it allows our technical team to think outside the box and create better and more efficient products for our customers.” Mobil 1 also provide material and support to the all-conquering Red Bull Racing F1 team. “We regret leaving [MotoGP] in 2003. So, it [returning] was all about finding the right partner and KTM was the one. We needed to be with someone [a team] that made their engines…and we could have that close relationship.”
“We are going through an interesting time together,” Risse confides. “We already received a product that was working very well. Of course, we had suppliers before, so we had a reference. We’re impressed by the support. They have such a broad background in terms of chemistry. We can ask crazy questions and think differently.”
“We don’t know if we can take it [performance] beyond where fossil fuels operate today and that’s why doing this [MotoGP] is important because it helps us find the answers and allows us this freedom to think outside the box and not be constrained by commercial needs,” asserts Humphries. “To create the best performance within the rules.”
What’s different about the partnership compared to other teams/brands?
Mobil 1 will set-up a small laboratory at certain MotoGP Grands Prix and this means ultra-fast measurement and reaction times if necessary. With the 2024 calendar reaching 21 rounds from March to late November, in different climates, temperatures, altitudes, air density and with the second year of the demanding Sprint concept in place, the Mobil 1 ‘lab’ is another asset. “The goal is to monitor some fuel or oil samples that comes through in the weekend and see how it [analysis] can help performance of the bike or how it might influence the next products,” describes Terroba. “We have a big in-house development center in the U.S. There the engineers are also working with KTM engineers and their dynos. We can do a much deeper dive there and in more detail, but here, in the paddock, we can do things instantly. Both sides of the data can help development because the evolution of technology does not stop in motorsports.”
What’s the difference/Pros/Cons between cars and bikes?
Mobil 1 go a little coy on this subject, careful not to give away too many details to prying journalists, but there are obvious variations (as well as similarities) between the likes of F1 and MotoGP.
Terroba: “Supporting the F1 cars with Red Bull we can help the engineers to prevent any kind of issue, or recognize which system – engine, gearbox or electronics – is healthier or more convenient in terms of function, temperature or pressure. We do that with these trackside lab activities. That’s why we decided to move one step forward with KTM and, as far as we are aware, they are the only team with this trackside activity service. The big challenge is that you are part of the team and you are there for the team. You know your responsibilities and capabilities and skills.”
“F1 and bikes are fully different: the engines and the products,” the Spaniard adds. “We put in the same advanced technology to design the products…but the result is different.”
“The challenges of MotoGP are significant and different for us,” Humphries concludes. “That’s a symptom of the fact that we were out of the sport for a while but our goal is to keep on adding performance and it takes months. It’s not something we just knock-out in the kitchen. This is the beginning of the journey and we have a long way to go.”